Fender RI '57 Pink Paisley Stratocaster '02 (CIJ)
The Sound: The pickups I have installed are vintage/modern-style, with cloth wires, and their sound are quite an improvement over the stock pickups, while retaining a true vintage Strat vibe. From bluesy Hendrix to out-of-phase Dire Straits to twangy bright county-rock sounds, this Strat covers it all. All pots and the switch are noise-free. If you are looking at other Paisley Strats for sale, keep in mind that you probably may need to upgrade the pickups or not. It depence.
The Rest: The pickguard is clean, full pink paisley design. The tremolo section is currently blocked off. As for the tuners, the installed Gotoh tuners are very high-quality - in fact, they are the exact same tuners as what are used on the American Vintage Reissue Strats (I know this for sure because I own one of them). The guitar weighs exactly 3,5 kg, a typical Strat weight. Overall, this is one handsome looking guitar that is solidly built. Actually, It’s kind of nice that it is mint. Overall in excellent to near mint condition. Looks as though it has sat in it’s case most of it’s life. Pro setup and plays / sounds fantastic!
SUMMARY: They sure don't make 'em like this anymore - I believe Fender Japan stopped making this model in 2008 or so, and very few were imported into the USA after the turn of the century anyway. If you want to get noticed when you play, or just like that Sixties-era psychedelic art look, this guitar has it all covered. It rocks!
Model Name: Fender Pink Paisley Stratocaster®
Series: Classic Series
Body: Basswood
Neck: Maple, “C” Shape (Polyurethane Finish)
Fingerboard: Maple (7.25” Radius/184 mm)
No. of Frets: 21 Vintage Style Frets
Scale Length: 25.5" (648mm)
Width @ Nut: 1.650" (42mm)
Hardware: Chrome
Machine Heads: Fender/Gotoh® Vintage Style Tuning Machines
Bridge: Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo
Pickups: 3 Vintage Style Strat Single-Coil Pickups
Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade:
Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1 (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
Color: (550) Pink Paisley, (Polyurethane Finish)
Source: Japan